The hybrid gathering of the annual Moderators’ Conference came to a conclusion on Saturday evening at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville with parting words from the Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly (2020).
“We have a power-packed hour for you,” the Rev. Carlton Johnson, coordinator for the Office of Vital Congregations, told the people attending a workshop called “The 7 Marks and You” during the Moderators’ Conference, which concluded Saturday. The conference attracted 145 presbytery and synod moderators and vice moderators from around the country, attending both in person at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and online.
During the evening hours on Friday, the first day of the Moderators’ Conference, the Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly (2022), the Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace and the Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis, answered questions from the 145 or so mid council moderators gathered in person and online and exchanged some of the wisdom that’s helped make them beloved in Presbyterian circles.
On Saturday morning about 40 Moderators’ Conference attendees received a detailed judicial process overview from Laurie Griffith, Associate Director for Constitutional Interpretation in the Office of the General Assembly.
Saturday’s Moderators’ Conference presentation on helping PC(USA) mid council moderators hold more purposeful meetings gathered input from three people with specialized knowledge on their topic.
With drumming to drive them and preaching by a Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly to inspire them, mid council moderators from around the country joined both in person in the Chapel at the Presbyterian Center and online for the 2022 Moderators’ Conference, which began Friday with worship pointing to the Co-Moderators’ “Unbounded We Thrive” theme.
The 2021 Moderators’ Conference ended Saturday night with a Q&A conversation between conference attendees and Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly of the PC(USA).
Moderating presbytery, congregational and other general meetings within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) requires wearing a lot of different hats. That’s what newly elected moderators and vice moderators learned at the recently concluded virtual Moderators’ Conference. They received that important tip from two people who know a thing or two about moderating church gatherings.
One of three featured workshops Friday night at the 2021 Moderators’ Conference focused on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a tool being used by the national church and mid councils to increase individual and group cultural understanding and effectiveness.
The more than 130 present or soon-to-be mid council meetings learned how to set up and run purposeful meetings during a Friday webinar offered as part of the Moderators’ Conference, hosted by the Office of the General Assembly’s Mid Council Ministries.